UK HoldCo seeking investments in European financial services companies, who are pursuing IT and data led turnaround strategies.
Who we are
Ian G. Banwell
Ian is a US cititzen, and investor residing in London. He is Executive Chairman of Greenfield HoldCo LTD., UK, a company he formed to invest in European financial services companies pursuing turnaround strategies.
His other investment interests are focused on data analytics, and early-stage health care opportunities. He is an investor in and director of Tract Bio, a biotechnology company that is discovering and developing novel therapies to transform the treatment of cancer and inflammatory disease.
He is a past director of WebMD (NASDAQ listed/sold to KKR in 2017), and currently chair of the audit committee of Forian (NASDAQ listed). He chaired the US Treasury’s Borrowing Advisory committee, and was a member for 12 years.
Current Market Environment
Source: S&P Capital IQ Pro (11/07/2024)
HCOB execution, success and thesis
We’ve spent the last 5 years on a European Financial services turn around project.
We were trying to perfect a new operating model, and it has been widely successful as Financial Services by all standards
during FinTech boom, age of big data and cloud and - most recently - AI
Remarkable investment and German success story
- Best Bank in Germany today and amongst Top 10 in Europe
- 2023 record pre-tax earnings and industry leading CIR of 39%
Historical MOIC - very high
- €1.05 bln investment by a group of investors in 11/2018 1), 2)
- €1.8 bln dividends realized since (€1.5 bln pay-out in Q2/2023 and €300mn announced for FY 2023) 3)
- > € 4 bln remaining tangible book value (based on 12/2023 disclosure) 3)
1) Bloomberg 28 Feb 2018 “… a group of investors … agreed to acquire …[94.9%] for about 1 billion euros”
2) lexxion 17 Sept 2019: “The SPA determines a value of EUR 1.05 billion for 100% of shares in HSH
3) Company disclosure.
Growth like returns
in a very actively managed turn around strategy
- “…. Bottom line – HCOB is clear proof that a smart and motivated management team with a clear business plan and a rigorous focus on execution can deliver excellent returns in the notoriously tough German banking market.”Autonomous 2/9/2023
- “Hamburg Commercial Bank AG (HCOB) increased its profits by 21 percent last year. In total, the former HSH Nordbank earned 425 million euros after taxes - 75 million more than in the previous year, according to the provisional Thursday published preliminary business figures for 2022”FAZ (2/9/2023)
- “Hamburg Commercial Bank improved its earnings in 2022 thanks to a further improvement in profitability in the operating business and a good development in risk provisioning.”Finanznachrichten (2/9/2023)
- HCOB reports substantial profit of €425 million “For the owners of HCOB - a consortium of investors led by the private equity funds Cerberus and J.C. Flowers - the commitment is now more than paying off”Hansa International Maritime Journal (2/9/2023)
- “Hamburg Commercial Bank AG (HCOB) is considering paying a dividend of 1.5 billion euros for 2022. For the new owners of the former HSH Nordbank, which include Cerberus Capital and J.C. Flowers, this could pay off the investment of around 1 billion euros made around four years ago.”Bloomberg (2/9/2023)
- “Hamburg Commercial Bank (HCB) has retained its crown as Germany’s best-performing bank of the country’s 10 largest lenders. Contributing to its top overall ranking is its strong showing in terms of profitability, return on risk, soundness and leverage, where it is ranked first in all four categories.”The Banker (4/7/2022), service of the Financial Times
- “On track for normalization” “That this bank would one day present its results in a thoroughly unexcited and yet proud manner hardly seemed conceivable a few years ago. HSH Nordbank, the former Landesbank of Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein, had been sold to some of its former co-owners at the end of 2017 with loud noise after many years of decline.”Welt (2/9/2023)
- The world’s best bank transformation 2022: HCOB - radical change is possible, even in Germany
“Hamburg Commercial Bank is almost unrecognizable from its former incarnation as one of Germany's most troubled state-owned banks. Now in private hands, it is proving that even legacy banks in the most sheltered parts of European finance can become dynamic and profitable institutions.Euromoney July 14, 2022 - “HCOB continues to be one of the best capitalized banks in Europe” “He [Ian Banwell] said that HCOB’s management was concentrating on building up a solid and modern German financial institution. HCOB is a success story that could well continue.”Börsenzeitung (2/9/2023)
- Hamburg Commercial Bank with strong 425 million euros consolidated profit "Our very pleasing preliminary business result for 2022 is evidence of the operational strength and sustainable profitability – our diversification strategy is taking effect. Our strong customer base and clear, focused business model support our success.”DEAL Magazine (2/9/2023)
- “This is a remarkable German success story says Banwell, a U.S. citizen.“Welt (2/9/2023)
- “HCOB (NR): Crushing It.
Hamburg Commercial Bank reported another set of very strong results yesterday. The FY net profit was up +21% to €425mn which translated into a 20.8% net ROE on a 13% CET1 capital allocation. The NIM expanded further (as planned) to 168bps with the cost/income ratio falling to 44% and the bad debt provision charge at just 5bps. The company plans a €1.5bn special dividend to its owners, but the CET1 ratio will still be a whopping 20.5% versus the near-term goal of 17%+. The guidance is upbeat with the company expecting new business volume to grow from €5.6bn in 2022 to €7bn in 2023, the NIM to widen further to 200bps on its way to 220bps and the cost/income ratio to fall below 40% in the next few years. Finally, the company expressed itself optimistic of a rating upgrade at some point on the back of its strong operating performance.“Autonomous 2/9/2023
Contact
Greenfield HoldCo LTD UK
33 Eaton Terrace
London SW1W 8TP United Kingdom